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The Salem Police Department has released their reports. On Monday, October 27^th at 4:16 in the afternoon, an officer was contacted at the station in reference to a stolen checkbook. The investigation revealed that someone took a checkbook from a residence in the 1100 block of West Hunt. Later that night at 6:50, an officer was contacted at the station in reference to a burglary that occurred at a residence in the 100 block of North Water. That investigation revealed that someone entered a residence, took a Playstation 3 and a cell phone valued at $300. On Thursday, October 30^th at 3:54 in the afternoon, an officer was detailed to Walmart in reference to an intoxicated person having trouble walking. The investigation led to the arrest of a 42-year old male of Lebanon for an open container. He was issued summons to appear in court and released. On Friday, October 31^st at 1:45 in the afternoon, an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 300 block of East Hunt in reference to an assault. That investigation revealed that a 23-year old Salem female had been assaulted by an unidentified female. On Saturday, November 1^st at 1:05 in the early morning, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation led to the arrest of a 22-year old Salem male for driving while intoxicated. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. That night at 9:48, an officer responded to Walmart in reference to shoplifters. That investigation led to the arrest of a 26-year old male and a 22-year old female, both of Licking, for stealing merchandise valued at $54.84. Both were issued summonses to appear in court and released. On Monday, November 3^rd at 12:30 in the early morning, a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. The investigation led to the arrest of a 22-year old male of Branson for possession of marijuana. He was issued a summons to appear in court and released. That same morning at 9:16, an officer was detailed to a residence in the 300 block of West Hunt in reference to an attempted burglary. The investigation revealed that two unidentified males attempted to gain entry into the residence through a garage door.  According the homeowner, he fought with the two briefly before they fled on foot toward Highway 32, entered a black two-door sports car with loud exhaust and fled the scene. That evening at 6:11, an officer was dispatched to Mobil at the intersection of Highways 32 and 19 in reference to a theft of fuel. That investigation revealed that the driver of a blue extended cab Chevrolet truck pumped $20 in fuel and left without paying. A short time later at 8:49 pm, an officer transported a 37-year old Salem male from the Phelps County Jail to the Dent County Jail in lieu of an active arrest warrant from the City of Salem. Later that night at 10:36, an officer transported a 37-year old male of Kansas City, Missouri to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center in lieu of a mental commitment order. On Tuesday, November 4^th at 4:14 in the early morning, an officer responded to Casey's General Store located on Highway 32 East in reference to a theft of fuel. The investigation revealed that the driver of a white four-door Ford truck pumped $10 in fuel and left without paying.  Anyone with any information regarding the assault, attempted burglary or theft of fuel reports, is asked to contact the Salem Police Department by calling 729-4242.

About 14 regional task forces across the state make up the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. And since its creation in 2007, it has received a grant each year from the state worth about $1.5 million. But so far this year, no money has been released. The South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force, based in Dent County, has received about $40,000 a year from the State Cyber Crimes Grant to pay for an Investigator, training and equipment, since 2008. Usually, the task force applies for the grant before its fiscal year on June 1st and receives it a few weeks later. But this year, the grants were put on hold because the governor froze the budgeted funds. The Computer Crimes Task Force investigates crimes that exploit children on the Internet. That includes the pro-active tracking of the distribution of child pornography and the development new tools and techniques to find persons exploiting children on the Internet. The South Central Task Force also provides digital forensics from the lab in Salem.  This includes examining computers and cell phones for law enforcement for a variety of crimes, including drug offenses and homicides. Without the local forensic capabilities the devices will have to be sent to other Federal and State labs that currently have backlogs of many months to years. The South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force serves multiple surrounding counties including Dent, Phelps, Crawford, Iron, Reynolds, Shannon, Texas, Pulaski and Washington.  In 2013 and 2014 it handled over 150 cases. During that same period over 200 forensic examinations of computers and cell phone were conducted. The Task Force applied for a $40,900 budget through the grant this year. And without that money, it has had to borrow from the Dent County Sheriff's Office. Dent County Sheriff Rick Stallings said right now they are using money from open positions to keep the task force afloat until the money is released by the governor. But if that grant is not released by the next fiscal year, beginning January 1, the task force operations will essentially be shutdown. Some funds are received through the Federal Protect Act, but not enough to continue full-time operations. A reporter in Columbia reported Governor Nixon's Office says the money has not been released to the Department of Public Safety because the governor said the legislature passed a budget $800 million out of balance. The governor's office said if funds do become available this fiscal year, Governor Nixon will reevaluate the restricted spending areas. For additional information or questions, please contact Special Investigator Wayne Becker at whbecker@dentcountysheriff.org.

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